


heat lightning

by blazeofglory



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Detective Diego and Medium Klaus, Ghosts, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Mystery, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-01-16 01:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18511210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazeofglory/pseuds/blazeofglory
Summary: Diego has always known that there was something weird about his birth and something weird abouthim. Ever since he was a kid, he wanted to find others like him.Then Diego meets Ben, born on the same day as him at the same time-- a weird boy with a weird birth. But before Diego can begin to unravel the mystery of their births and their powers, Ben is dead.In a last ditch attempt to uncover the truth, Diego visits a medium.





	1. a Ouija board that talks back

**Author's Note:**

> _You were heat lightning._  
>  _You were a storm that never rolled in._  
>  _You were the northern lights in a southern town, a caustic fleeting thing._  
>  _I’ll bury your memories in the garden;_  
>  _I’ll watch them grow with the flowers in the spring._  
>  _I’ll keep you with me._  
>  \--Cigarettes & Saints by The Wonder Years

“You know, I used to think you were smart,” Diego says, glaring at the side of Beaman’s head. They’re standing outside a small, rundown house in the hipster part of town that Diego usually avoids. The windows are all lit up with neon signs proclaiming _palm readings here_ and _first prediction free!_ God, Diego can’t believe Beaman successfully dragged him to see a fucking psychic. Diego has more than half a mind to turn around and leave without even bothering to meet the quack.

“You’ll love me even more after this,” Beaman insists, undeterred, and rings the doorbell.

Diego rolls his eyes. “I seriously doubt that.”

Just as Diego is starting to lose patience, the door finally opens, revealing a dark interior hazy with incense. But he doesn’t really notice much else about the room; he’s way too focused on the man standing in the doorway. The self-proclaimed medium is certainly dressed for the part, wearing a long, flowy dress with a lacy shawl draped over his shoulders. His eyeliner is smudged and his feet are bare and… well, he’s hot. Diego side-eyes Beaman, beginning to wonder if he brought Diego here because he somehow knows that this guy is _exactly_ his type.

“Chuck,” the man says in a soft voice, smiling as he opens the door farther and leads them both inside to a living room crowded with furniture. He glances curiously at Diego. “Who’s your cute friend?”

“I’m Det--”

“Diego,” Beaman cuts in, smiling too. Diego already regrets coming here. “He needed a medium, so I brought him to the best in town.”

“Best in the _world_ ,” the man corrects with a self-assured grin. He holds his hand out to Diego, long fingers with nails painted a soft pink. “Call me Klaus.”

Diego clasps his hand, but before he can shake, Klaus lifts Diego’s hand to his lips and presses a soft kiss to the back of it. All Diego can do is stare, stunned, very curious, and maybe just a little bit charmed.

“Chuck, darling, I’ll leave you with Lucy. I’m going to take Diego to my office.”

“Sure,” Beaman agrees easily, taking a seat on an overstuffed gaudy purple couch. Diego glances around-- there’s no one else there.

“Lucy?” he asks.

In answer, a ridiculously large cat emerges from under a blanket on a velvet armchair and immediately leaps into Beaman’s lap and begins to purr. Diego eyes the giant fluffy beast warily, already feeling his allergies rearing their ugly head. If Beaman gets cat fur in his car after this, Diego should be legally allowed to kill him.

“I’m convinced Chuck only really visits because of Lucy,” Klaus whispers in a conspiratorial tone as he leads Diego past the first door off the hallway. It looks about how Diego expected-- silk and lace everywhere, fluffy pillows on the ground, incense burning and only two small salt lamps to light the room. It’s sort of… cozy. As ridiculous as this whole venture is, Diego’s curious enough about Klaus to stay and let this all play out. Even though he’s a total fraud, Klaus is cute, so Diego doesn’t really mind spending half an hour looking at him. He takes a seat on a pillow and Klaus sits opposite him, a crystal ball between them.

“So how does this all work?” Diego asks with a grin. “I give you a name and you pull out a Ouija board?”

“Most spirits find Ouija boards offensive,” Klaus replies, unfazed and still smiling genially. “I don’t need one to speak to the dead. Just a name.”

Diego hesitates. This is all bullshit, of course it is, but he suddenly finds it a lot less entertaining when he remembers why Beaman brought him here in the first place. He stares down at his clenched fists, at a loss for words.

“Maybe he’s already here,” Klaus says softly, and Diego looks up to meet his eyes. But Klaus isn’t looking at him-- Klaus’ eyes are fixed on a spot beyond Diego, staring at something that Diego can’t see. It’s a convincing act.

 _It isn’t real_ , Diego forcefully reminds himself. _It’s all just a scam._

But he can’t resist asking in a small voice, “Do you see him?”

“There are a few spirits here… They know you, Diego. They haunt you.” There’s something powerful and ominous in Klaus’ voice, all softness gone. Diego, caught up in the theater of it all, glances around them, but there’s nothing to see. Klaus blinks and suddenly his eyes are focused on Diego’s as he says, “You killed them.”

Diego freezes, then protests without thinking, “N-no, I’m not here for them. I didn’t kill Ben.”

“None of these spirits are named Ben,” Klaus says with a frown. “There’s, uh-- no, don’t speak all at once-- there’s a man named Brian Dunne. And… a woman named Sarah Parker.”

Diego’s heart beats faster. He knows those names, he knows those deaths. Death is unavoidable in his line of work, but he’s never taken it lightly. He’s lost a lot of sleep over these names, and his skin crawls to hear them now, after so many long years spent trying to forget them.

It’s cold, Diego abruptly realizes. It’s absolutely freezing and he’s shivering-- when he releases a shaky breath, he can see it. But Klaus doesn’t have so much as a goosebump and the sun is still shining bright outside.

“Who is Ben?” Klaus presses. “I can try to summon him.”

“I don’t know his last name,” Diego reluctantly admits, and Klaus frowns again.

“Can you describe him for me? What did he look like, how did he die?”

Again, Diego hesitates. This doesn’t feel like bullshit anymore, not after Klaus said those names. Diego is man enough to admit that he’s unnerved. The details about Ben… he’s only told Beaman and Patch about him. This investigation is as far from official as it gets; he’ll probably be in a lot of trouble if anyone else finds out. But Diego has been picking at the threads of this mystery for too long and he can’t let it go now, not when he finally has a lead.

“I barely knew him,” Diego finally says, looking at his hands instead of at Klaus. He still remembers, all too vividly, the unnatural heat of Ben’s blood on his hands, the red red red seeping into every line, stuck under his fingernails for a week afterwards. “I only met him last month, but I-- I was there when he died.”

“He _just_ died?” Klaus asks, sounding surprised, and Diego meets his eyes again. Now Klaus is the one that looks unnerved. The aura of mystique has fallen and his eyes are bright with unshed tears. “Was he Asian, really cute, age 29, and really good at solving riddles?”

“You knew him?” Diego asks, eagerly leaning closer over the crystal ball. But Klaus leans back farther, a wary look in his eye, and Diego watches as a single tear slides down his cheek.

“You need to leave,” Klaus says quietly, wiping away the tear and standing abruptly, opening the door.

“Wait,” Diego protests, standing too. “Please, I-- can you summon him? I need to talk to him--”

“I can, but I won’t,” Klaus replies, gesturing pointedly to the door. Diego doesn’t move.

“Klaus--”

“ _No_.” Klaus glares at him, and Diego doesn’t know why, but he’s suddenly sure that Klaus is a force to be reckoned with. “Ben’s been through enough, I’m not dragging him back to this plane. Now get out.”

Diego leaves without another word, not even stopping when Beaman calls his name. When he gets outside, he just stands there on that ramshackle porch, trying to calm his shallow breaths and racing heart. After a moment, Beaman comes out, looking concerned.

“What happened?” Beaman demands, arms crossed. “Klaus just kicked me out!”

Diego just shakes his head and gets in the car. Beaman gets in the passenger seat and it’s quiet between them for a long moment. Diego stares at the house, watching as the neon lights are turned off one by one, leaving the windows in darkness.

“He knew Ben,” Diego says. He turns to Beaman, a hard set to his features. “Whatever the fuck this all is, Klaus is part of it. How much do you know about him?”

“Not much,” Beaman replies, and Diego is grateful that he isn’t being pressed to explain what happened inside. “I only see him once a month for a tarot reading.”

For once, Diego doesn’t feel the urge to mock Beaman’s strange habits. He finally starts the car and backs out of the gravel driveway.

“I’m gonna need you to distract Patch when we get back,” Diego says. “I’m willing to bet that Klaus has a record, and I’m going to find it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh boy, okay, so this was inspired by two prompts from Umbrella Kink. One prompted Klaus as a medium that helps Diego solve murders and the other prompted Klaus as an eccentric medium/psychic living his best life. But then this got... really off track. It's gonna be kinda dark and there's gonna be Plot and murder and intrigue and god only knows what else! 
> 
> It may take me a little bit to update this because I have two other WIPs, but please subscribe!! And comment to let me know what you think!!


	2. who's interrogating who?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mention of suicide

Diego can’t find anything on Klaus. Even when he searches for information about Klaus’ business, there is very little to be found outside of Yelp reviews. The reviews rave about Klaus, how he has “the gift,” how he has a lovely cat and lovely hands-- but none of that information is particularly useful to Diego right now. As far as he can tell, Klaus doesn’t even have a last name, like he’s Madonna or some shit. Ben had been the same fucking way-- Diego hadn’t found much on him either and he’d basically resorted to stalking Ben to find out _anything_. He doesn’t want to have to resort to stalking Klaus.

The connection between Klaus and Ben is robbing Diego of sleep. Who was Ben to Klaus? They were obviously close, since Klaus was so affected by Ben’s death. But Ben had never mentioned Klaus, and Diego thought… well, he’d thought that Ben trusted him. Evidently not. It would be a lie to say it doesn’t sting.  

What else could Ben have kept from him? Did he know more about their births and their powers? Did Ben know more people like them? Ben is fucking _dead_ and Diego is left with a thousand unanswered questions and the memory of Ben _screaming_. Every night when he closes his eyes, he sees the blood and he hears the screams and he wakes up sweaty and nauseous.

But Klaus is a lead. He might have answers to Diego’s questions-- the only problem is going to be getting him to talk. Diego doubts that Klaus will let him inside if he shows up asking for a palm reading, and since this isn’t an official investigation, Diego can’t exactly cuff Klaus and drag him into an interrogation room.

It’s late, Diego’s not even sure how late, but he’s nursing a beer and delaying sleep as long as he can, a useless attempt to keep the nightmares at bay. He’s definitely not expecting a knock at his door at this hour. He jumps up, grabbing a knife on instinct, and walks toward the front door with silent steps. Logically, he thinks it must be a neighbor. The apartment building has security, after all; someone would have to be pretty determined to break in. He’s more annoyed than nervous when he looks out the peephole, greeted by the sight of none other than Klaus.

Diego opens the door, still holding his knife, and looks Klaus over-- no sign of a weapon, only really tight jeans a mint green hoodie and a very pretty, though nervous looking, face.

“Why are you here?” Diego asks, then immediately amends, “ _How_ are you here?”

Klaus shrugs. “Can I come in?”

Diego sighs and tucks the knife into the waistband of his sweatpants, then he steps aside and lets Klaus in. He’s sure that this is a bad idea, a truly _terrible_ idea, but he’d be a fool to turn Klaus away.

Klaus doesn’t wait for further invitation, walking inside and plopping right down in Diego’s favorite spot on the couch. He looks less nervous now, kicking off his shoes and pulling the quilt that Diego’s mother made into his lap. But there’s still something in his eyes, something on edge, something that gives Diego pause. Diego remains wary, even as he takes a seat on the other side of the couch.

“Are you gonna tell me what you’re doing here?” Diego asks pointedly.

“I’m here for Ben’s sake,” Klaus answers, frowning as he examines the flowery topstitch on the quilt. He sighs quietly, a mournful sound that tugs at something in Diego’s chest. “Before he died, he told me that you found him. But he didn’t tell me your name.”

Diego turns toward Klaus fully, sideways on the couch, intent on finding out everything Klaus could possibly know. “What did Ben tell you about me?”

“He said you were dangerous,” Klaus replies, voice steely as he looks up at Diego. He looks angry, he looks dangerous himself, and it’s… a compelling look. He continues, “He said you were a detective… Violent, but kind, with a certain fondness for knives.”

Diego’s eyes narrow, wondering if those were really Ben’s words or just Klaus’ extrapolations. “Is that _all_ he said?”

Klaus fidgets with the quilt, an answer clear as day. Fuck, Diego wouldn’t be surprised if Ben had told Klaus _everything_. It’s enough to make Diego angry too, frustrated and betrayed that Ben would tell Klaus so much but tell Diego so little. He’d known Ben was a private person, a _paranoid_ person, but he’d never truly known the extent of it.

“Ben told me that you were trying to figure out the mystery,” Klaus says, too nonchalant to be anything other than a carefully constructed veneer of calm. “The births, the powers, Reginald Hargreeves, all of it.”

“Is that it?” Diego presses again. Klaus glowers at him, clearly annoyed that Diego can read him so easily. Ben was always so stoic, so reserved, but Klaus wears his heart on his sleeve like no one else Diego has ever met.

“Ben told me your birthday,” Klaus finally replies, a defiant tilt to his chin. “Because it’s his birthday too.”

“He really did tell you everything, then,” Diego says, exasperated, and runs a tired hand through his hair. He glances at the clock-- it’s just past four, no wonder he’s exhausted. He thinks longingly of his bed, but he has more questions to ask Klaus before he can finally pass out and succumb to the nightmares. “Why didn’t Ben ever tell me anything about you?”

Klaus snorts derisively, like it’s a stupid question, and Diego bristles. “Because he didn’t trust you. He was keeping me safe.”

“I was never a _threat--_ ”

“You were there when he died, you said it yourself,” Klaus interrupts angrily, hands clenching the quilt tight. “That’s not in the police reports, Diego. The official statement is that he died alone.”

Diego wants to know how the fuck Klaus even got access to the police report, but he bites his tongue. He looks away, guilt and shame welling up inside him. He’d pulled every string he had to keep his name off that report-- only Beaman and Patch know he was there. 

“The rest of the report is true,” he says, beseeching. “I just-- I couldn’t have anyone looking into what Ben and I had in common.”

“That’s bullshit!” Klaus yells, standing suddenly, the quilt falling to the floor at his feet. Inexplicably, the lights flicker. “It's not true, Ben didn’t kill himself!”

Diego stands slowly, holding his hands up placatingly, but Klaus looks no less thunderous.

“I don’t think he did, I think it was an accident,” Diego says softly. Klaus shakes his head vehemently, tears in his eyes.

“I came here for _answers_ , but you don’t have any! I think it was murder!” Klaus yells, a wild, panicked look on his face. “You might not have killed my brother, but he’s dead because of you!”

Diego has no idea what the fuck happens, but he’s suddenly thrown back, hitting the floor hard, leaving his entire body sore and his head aching. His instincts kick in and he reaches for his knife, but it’s gone. He looks up, frantic, and there it is-- it’s suspended in midair, pointed right at his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what really happened to Ben????? what's going to happen to Diego????? how do Diego and Klaus possibly fall in love???? stay tuned to find out!!


	3. the séance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: mention of self-harm

“I’m not gonna kill you,” Klaus says, and Diego finally looks away from the blade to see Klaus still standing exactly where he’d been before. But it’s dark in the apartment now, the lights all gone out, and Klaus is shrouded in shadows. Diego’s head is aching, he’s sure there will be a bump, but the pain is secondary to his racing heart and rising fear. “I just need you to tell me what happened that night.”

Somehow, Klaus looks much calmer now; Diego is the one that feels like panicking. He’s reminded, suddenly and viscerally, of the terror he felt when Ben showed him the _thing_ inside him.

“How are you doing this?” Diego demands, focusing on the blade again, unwilling to take his eyes off the weapon in his face for long. An NYPD detective murdered with his own knife would be quite the story, and Diego really, _really_ doesn’t want to die an exciting death. If he ever ends up on some sort of bullshit murder podcast sensationalizing his death, he’ll roll over in his grave.

“You have your tricks and Ben had his,” Klaus replies with a nervous laugh that verges on hysterical. Distracted by that sound, Diego wonders if the neighbors can hear him through the thin walls-- could they have heard Klaus shouting and Diego hitting the floor? Could someone have already called the police? Fuck, he hopes not. He can handle this himself, he just needs to talk Klaus down. Unfortunately, though, talking has never exactly been Diego’s biggest strength. 

Diego’s been so laser focused on the knife and his spiraling thoughts, it takes him a minute to realize what Klaus has said.

“You have powers too,” Diego says, breathless, finally realizing _why_. “You’re one of us.” 

“Look, I’m a self-professed narcissist, but let’s not talk about me right now.” Klaus steps closer, his sharp, assessing eyes roving over Diego’s face. “Tell me what happened to Ben.”

“I don’t know,” Diego answers honestly as the familiar twins of guilt and shame well up inside him. “He-- he told me to meet him there, he said he had a lead. But when I got there, he-- Ben was--” 

Diego shakes his head, haunted by the memory of Ben screaming. Ben hadn’t wanted to die; of that, Diego is sure. That scream, that guttural cry that echoes in Diego’s head on repeat, that’s the sound of a man being ripped away from a life that he wanted to keep living.

“He was what?” Klaus presses, softer now, maybe even sympathetic. Diego closes his eyes and Ben is all he fucking sees. His face had been so pale that day, though Diego could hardly tell because Ben was covered in so much blood. It was everywhere, streaked down his face, soaked into his clothes, pooled on the floor. Diego had never seen that much blood come from someone still _screaming._

“He lost control,” Diego whispers. “He was bleeding, there was blood everywhere.”

Klaus is quiet for a moment, then he says, “The police report says his wounds were self-inflicted.”

“He lost control,” Diego repeats, unsurprised to feel tears tracking down his cheeks. “I don’t know how or why, but whatever was inside him, it-- it-- it killed him.”

The knife falls to the floor with a clatter. Startled, Diego opens his eyes again-- Klaus looks stricken. The cop part of Diego’s brain tells him to lunge for the knife and hold it to Klaus’ throat, but he holds himself back. If he plays this right, maybe he can get Klaus on his side. Maybe they can figure this out, maybe they can figure it _all_ out.

Maybe they can avenge Ben.

With a heavy, tired sigh, Klaus sits back down on the couch. The dangerous aura he’d been emanating is gone-- he looks harmless now, curled up small on Diego’s ratty old couch. He looks exhausted and defeated and _grieving_. Diego can’t begrudge him the threats and the fear-- he knows all too well what grief can do to a person. He’d done plenty of his own screaming and raging when his mom died suddenly and violently last year. Sometimes he _still_ wants to scream and rage because of it. God, he’d been lucky not to get kicked off the force after some of the shit he pulled when he was grieving.  

“I’m sorry,” Diego whispers as he stands and picks up the discarded quilt. Gently, he lays it over Klaus’ lap. “For whatever part I played in Ben’s death, I’m sorry.”

Klaus just nods, looking lost. After a moment, Diego joins him on the couch, sitting closer than before. He feels like it might be weird that he wants to comfort Klaus right now, after being threatened with his own knife, but he doesn’t bother to fight the urge. He bumps their knees together lightly, and he offers a small smile when Klaus looks up at him.

“Ben liked you,” Klaus says softly. “Just because he didn’t trust you doesn’t mean he didn’t like you. He said you were friends.”

Diego is almost embarrassed by how relieved he feels at Klaus’ words. He barely knew Ben, after all, but this whole mess tying them together had made them _mean something_ to each other, and he’s glad to know that it wasn’t one-sided.

Klaus is a part of this now too. Now they mean something to each other too, whether they want to or not. 

“You called him your brother?” Diego can’t help but pry.

“We met when we were kids,” Klaus answers with a sad, wistful smile on his face. He looks at the quilt instead of at Diego, tracing each little stitch that Diego’s mom had spent so many hours making. “We spent a few years with the same foster family, ‘til he got adopted first. We were so close from the get-go, we thought it was amazing that we had the same birthday and, you know, he had his monsters and I had my spirits.”

“And you found each other again later?” Diego prompts gently. Klaus nods, wiping away a stray tear.

“Ten years ago, we ran into each other at the local library,” Klaus replies, laughing wetly. “Just like that, we were inseparable again. We saw each other almost every day for ten fucking years.” 

Diego doesn’t know what to say, but he thinks Klaus is okay with the quiet that descends upon them. Klaus yawns and then Diego yawns, and they both laugh softly. It must be after five by now and Diego feels the exhaustion pulling at him, unable to ignore it any longer. He blinks slowly, watching Klaus’ sad, expressive face stare back at him in the dim light filtering in from a lamp post outside. There’s more to be said, more questions to be asked, but they’re both tired. They’re in this together now, and there will be time to figure everything out later.

Without really meaning to, Diego’s eyes fall shut and he succumbs to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter is already finished and it's titled... wait for it... _the horror_. get hype.


	4. the horror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: gore

Unleashing _them_ hurts every single time, and Ben is no stranger to pain. He knows how it feels to have his body torn apart by the beast inside him; he learned how to handle that pain when he was still a kid, crying in Klaus’ arms when the beast wouldn’t settle and Ben couldn’t sleep because he was in so much pain. He thought he knew what pain was.

He’s never felt anything as agonizingly painful as this before.

Ben is bleeding from a dozen wounds, some shallow but some dangerously _deep_ , and the beast is writhing wildly inside him, desperate to be let out. He’s steadily losing blood and it’s getting harder to think coherent thoughts, but with the last of his fading strength, he draws on every last ounce of control he possesses to keep _them_ inside him. They’re _angry_ and Ben can’t remember why, but the raw, primal feeling of their fury terrifies him. They’ve never felt like this, not in 29 whole years.

Ben doesn’t know what’s happening to him, but it’s clearly affecting _them._ He’s in pain and they are too, they’re begging to be released, they’re thrashing and screaming-- actually, he realizes, that might be him screaming. He can’t tell anymore, where they end and he begins. Everything is going hazy around the edges.

In his last conscious moments, Ben is sure of two things. One: someone is holding him. Two: he is going to die. 

Ben is going to die like this, light-headed and dizzy, screaming and bleeding, barely keeping the monsters at bay. He doesn’t know whose hands are trying to soothe him, trying to staunch the bleeding, shaking with fear-- he tries to look and all he sees is red-- but he’s grateful for the touch nonetheless. He was always so afraid of dying alone, it’s a relief to have someone by his side as life slowly leaves his body.

The pain is fading away and Ben stops screaming, and he knows this is it. He might be crying, but he can’t tell-- is the wetness on his face blood or tears? The monster inside him has stopped moving for the first time in his life-- he knows that it’s dead and soon he will be too. He probably only has _seconds_ left, and his heart beats faster at the thought. Distantly, he hears someone yelling his name and yelling for help, but he doesn’t recognize the voice. 

Ben breathes his last breath, and in that final second, he is glad to know that he’ll be seeing Klaus soon.

 

* * *

 

Ben doesn’t know how long he’s been dead. Time passes differently for ghosts-- sometimes he’s around, sometimes he’s not; he doesn’t get much say in the matter. There’s not much to see in the warehouse that he died in; nothing worth staying to look at. At first, there are a few cops, and then, once, a homeless man. Otherwise, it’s empty, and Ben doesn’t want to be there, stuck staring at the gray walls, all alone. He tries to _leave_ , but every time he attempts to cross the threshold out into the world, he fades away, and he has no idea how long it takes for him to come back each time.  

He’s starting to get pretty pissed off that Klaus hasn’t summoned him yet. What’s the use of being able to conjure spirits if he won’t use it to summon his own brother? Ben is _bored_.

And… well. Ben is lonely. And he misses Klaus. All the shit they’ve both been through, they were by each other’s sides for every minute of it. With every failure and heartbreak, every time Ben fell apart, Klaus was there to help him pick up the pieces. Klaus has been his brother and his best friend for most of Ben’s life, and to suddenly be dead and alone is… disorienting, to say the very least. He doesn’t know how to exist without Klaus. He’s not sure he even wants to. 

What could be days or weeks or months later, something changes. Ben doesn’t know why, but this time, when he tries to walk out of the warehouse, he _can_. Between one second and the next, he’s suddenly standing in Klaus’ living room, where he’s been aching to go ever since he first materialized in the warehouse. The room looks the same as the last time Ben had been there-- blankets strewn over armchairs, Lucy sleeping soundly and taking up most of the couch by herself, a calendar tacked up on the wall still flipped to a picture of a black kitten for July 2013, and the same candles and incense burning. If he focuses hard enough, Ben can almost remember exactly how the room should smell.

He had his own apartment, just down the street, but he’d spent more time here. He slept on that couch most nights of the week, he ate most of his meals in that messy kitchen. He and Klaus would sit here on this old carpet, eating pizza and painting their nails and smoking weed, every Friday night for the past ten years… Ben has more happy memories of this room than of anything else.

Once, they’d hosted a dinner party in here, for lack of a proper dining room. Klaus bought cheap wine, Ben only burned the biscuits a little, and Lucy begged scraps of chicken off all their guests. The old lady who owns the bookstore across the street came, and so did Ben’s favorite coworkers from the local public library, as well as one of their old friends from school and the French boy Klaus had been dating at the time. They’d spilt wine on the carpet and devoured all the food; the music was loud and they laughed all night. Ben closes his eyes, remembering how it felt to be happy, to be _alive_ , and he thinks that if he had a corporeal body right now, the pain would probably bring him to his knees.

All he can feel is an intense, burning _longing_ for life, _this_ life, where he and Klaus had managed to make something beautiful for themselves. He’s so caught up in his thoughts, he doesn’t notice the front door open and he turns, startled, when he hears Klaus gasp.

“Ben,” Klaus breathes out, dropping the keys in his hand, letting them hit the carpet with a dull thud. He looks… well, he looks like he’s seen a ghost. He steps closer slowly, taking in the sight of Ben-- and Ben glances down at his blood-stained clothes, wincing. He hadn’t noticed it ‘til now, but he’s still covered head-to-toe in blood. He must look terrifying, like the worst sort of ghost that used to give Klaus nightmares as a kid.

“Did you miss me?” Ben asks weakly, and Klaus makes a wounded noise. He rushes closer, hands glowing blue, and he pulls Ben into a tight hug. Stunned, it takes Ben a second to hug back, unused to touching anymore, but then he’s holding Klaus just as tightly. Tears spill from his eyes-- he can cry again! And now he can smell the familiar incense and he can feel the soft cotton of Klaus’ shirt and the warmth of his body, and it all feels so much better than his memories.  

Ben never wants to let go.


	5. no one likes group projects

When Diego gets Klaus’ call, he hops in his car as fast as he can. They’d already made plans to discuss everything they knew later that day, after Diego got off work. He certainly wasn’t expecting Klaus to call no more than half an hour after leaving, sounding oddly excited as he asked Diego to come over “ASAP as possible.” Luckily, Klaus doesn’t live far, and Diego makes it there quickly, only taking the time to change into his work clothes and grab his badge and gun.

Before he gets out and goes inside, Diego calls Beaman. It rings and rings and… goes to voicemail. Diego huffs in frustration, because this only leaves one other option. He takes a deep breath and calls Patch, half-hoping she won’t pick up either. But no such luck.

“You better be calling to ask me what kind of coffee you should bring me,” Patch says in lieu of hello. “Because I’m not covering your ass again, don’t even ask.”

“What if I say please?”

Patch sighs, already exhausted with him at the ripe old hour of 8am. He can relate, having only gotten maybe two hours of sleep. “Diego--” 

“I have a lead,” he cuts in, knowing full well that she’ll only actually help him if he tells her the truth. He was ready to bullshit Beaman, but he won’t do that to Patch. “On--on the mystery.”

“A lead?” Patch repeats dubiously, and Diego can easily picture the line between her eyebrows as she frowns. “Not to be rude, but I thought your only lead killed himself.”

“Yeah, well, turns out he had a brother.” Diego looks out the windshield, watching as the lacy turquoise curtains in Klaus’ bay window twitch open. “I gotta go, just-- cover for me one last time, I’ll owe you one. Tell the captain my dog is sick.”

“He knows you’re allerg--”

“Thanks, Patch!” Diego hangs up before she can protest any further; he’ll deal with the consequences of that later, but he doesn’t have the time right now. He finally gets out of the car and knocks on Klaus’ door, which opens immediately. 

“About time,” Klaus whines, though he’s grinning as Diego closes the door behind himself. Klaus clasps his hands together, rocking on the balls of his feet for a second, radiating nervous energy that’s at odds with the smile on his face. “I have to tell you something.”

“Something that couldn’t wait ‘til after work,” Diego replies petulantly, crossing his arms over his chest. “And something you couldn’t bother to tell me before you left?”

“Hush,”  Klaus says, undeterred by Diego’s grumpiness as he waves his hand dismissively, and Diego’s eyes catch on the word _Hello_ on his palm. He winces internally, distracted by the thought of how painful it would be to have a needle carving into the skin of his hand. He feels a little nauseous at the thought. “This just happened when I got home.”

“ _What_ just happened?” 

“Ben manifested!”

“He-- what? You conjured him?” Diego asks, frowning. “I thought you weren’t going to do that.”

“I didn’t do it,” Klaus clarifies, and there’s something just a little manic about his smile. “He showed up all on his own, neither of us know how he did it. Our Benny boy is a man of hidden talents!”

Even though Diego obviously can’t see ghosts, he still glances around warily-- and he jumps when he feels something touch his leg. But when he looks down, it’s just Lucy, rubbing up against him and covering his work pants in orange fur. He sighs, already feeling a sneeze coming on, and looks back up at Klaus. “Is Ben here now?”

“Yeah, and he says that navy blue is _not_ your color,” Klaus replies, then his eyes dart to Diego’s left and he laughs. It’s a sweet, warm sound, and Diego promptly decides that he definitely prefers Klaus laughing to Klaus crying. He wonders, fleetingly, if Klaus has laughed much at all since Ben’s death. “Okay, _actually_ , he says hello and…”

The laughter dies on Klaus’ lips as he stares into the space next to Diego, and for just a second, his lip quivers.

“And?” Diego prompts gently, and Klaus’ wet eyes turn back to him, away from the specter of Ben that Diego can’t see.

“He wants me to thank you for being with him at the end,” Klaus whispers, turning away to sit down on the couch. Lucy hops into his lap, and he wraps his arms around her, and she purrs loud enough that Diego can hear it. “He didn’t know it was you, but he was glad to not be alone.”

Diego nods, choked up and lost for words, as he sits down next to Klaus, just like he had at his own apartment just a few hours ago. God, it’s been a long night, and he can feel the weight of every sleepless hour. His voice is hoarse when he says, “He doesn’t need to thank me. I couldn’t save him.” 

“I wish I could manifest him again so you two could talk,” Klaus replies, sighing. “But it’s kind of hard and I already did it once today… But, uh, he insists on thanking you. He’s doing his big puppy dog eyes, it’s very endearing, trust me. Ben really got all the good genes in this family.”

A pause, and then Klaus laughs again, though it’s quieter than before. His eyes are fixed on the armchair across from them, and his hands are absently stroking Lucy’s long fur. “You can’t prove that we don’t have the same mother,” he says, presumably to Ben. “And, really, you can’t deny our resemblance! It's uncanny!” 

“Klaus,” Diego interrupts, gentle but firm. “I have to go to work eventually.” 

“Call out sick,” Klaus replies promptly, settling back in the couch, looking deceptively relaxed as he fixes Diego with intent eyes. Last time Klaus looked like that, there’d been a knife in Diego’s face. “You two owe me some answers, and I’m tired of waiting.”

Diego sighs, but nods anyway. Klaus deserves to know what’s going on, and Diego himself is extremely curious about all the information that Ben has withheld from him. He’s also a little surprised-- he’d been under the impression that Ben had already told Klaus everything that Diego told him, but that evidently isn’t true. He thinks about calling Patch to let her know that he won’t be coming in to work at all, but he decides not to-- she’d probably just lecture him about responsibility again, and he could do without the headache.

“Ben says that you should start by telling me everything you told him.”

“Okay,” Diego acquiesces, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I don’t know how many of us there are with powers, born at the same time to mothers that hadn’t been pregnant. But I do know of four.” He looks at Klaus, the corner of his mouth ticking up in a smirk. “Five, now.”

Klaus leans closer eagerly, though his hands don’t stop petting Lucy for even a second. “Ben and I only knew about us,” he says. “But we had a hunch about someone else.”

“Vanya,” Diego says. “Ben told me, so I looked into it, and we think you were right.” 

“I knew it! That explosion at the orchestra was more than it looked like, I don’t care if there was no evidence found against her. There’s no way she could’ve survived it if she didn’t have powers,” Klaus crows, grinning again. “Vindication!”

Diego huffs a quiet laugh, though the subject matter isn’t all that funny. He’d seen Vanya in the news too; he remembers watching the video of a short woman walking out of a crumbling building, looking visibly dazed but without a single hair on her head out of place, and not a single scratch on the violin cradled in her arms. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but when he was doing his research on her, he found it again. She’d looked terrified.

After Diego was sure that she was one of them, he’d tracked her down, but she’d refused to speak to him. He wants to try again, but he’s biding his time-- it’s only been two weeks, and he really doesn’t want to freak her out, not if he wants her help.

“Who else?” Klaus prompts eagerly. “You, me, Ben, Vanya, and who?” 

“I can’t prove the last one,” Diego admits reluctantly. “But I think… I think Luther Hargreeves is one of us.”

“ _Hargreeves_?” Klaus echoes. “Isn’t that the guy that tried to buy Ben?”

“He tried to get me too,” Diego explains, rubbing a tired hand over his face. “But my mom wouldn’t let him. I think he got one of us, though. I’ve been trying to find Luther for years, but he’s been off the grid since we were teenagers.”

Diego expects Klaus to be surprised, but Klaus isn’t even looking at him. He’s frowning at Ben’s armchair, and as Diego watches, Klaus’ hands start to _glow_. When Diego looks back over, Ben is there, and Diego jumps in his seat. Ben looks _exactly_ the same as the last time Diego had seen him, bloody and terrible, and Diego’s heart races at the sight of him.

“I can only keep this up for a minute,” Klaus says quickly, already breathless. “Tell Diego what you told me.”

Ben turns to Diego, and he looks so real, he looks _alive_ , and Diego… he can’t help the shiver of fear that runs through him. He’s never been afraid of ghosts before, but then again, he’s never _seen_ one before. Ben looks like something straight out of a horror movie, one of those really terrifying ones that Patch makes him watch every Halloween, no matter how much he protests. 

But when Ben speaks, it’s with the same calm voice that Diego remembers. Yet, his words unsettle Diego even more than his appearance had.

“I don’t know what all happened when I died,” Ben says, frowning. “But I think I met Luther Hargreeves. He was with me in the warehouse… And I don’t think he was alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags added!! This ensemble cast is growing! Patch is actually gonna be in a scene soon, I'm very excited to write my gf. 
> 
> Also-- don't worry too much about the Major Character Death warning, that's just about Ben, since last chapter was so dark! I should've had that tag from the beginning. 
> 
> As always, please comment to let me know which parts you liked!! And if you didn't like it, please don't tell me because I'm sensitive!


	6. the merits of caffeine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, queens! Welcome to this new chapter! Am I finally going to answer all your questions? No. But are we finally going to see Patch? YES, and isn't that even better?

“I can’t do this without your help,” Diego says quietly, beseeching, and he first looks Patch in the eye, and then Beaman.

Patch takes a loud, slurping slip of the chocolate frappuccino in her hand, unfazed. Beaman shifts uncomfortably. They’re sitting together at a sticky table in Starbucks, and Diego only managed to get them to come at all because he promised to buy them drinks in whatever size they chose-- of course, those greedy assholes both ordered ventis, while Diego ordered a tall that was still way more expensive than he wanted it to be, despite looking like it was child-sized.

“We could all lose our jobs,” Beaman awkwardly points out, setting aside his unnaturally pink juice… thing.

“We could lose our _lives_ ,” Patch cuts in, looking half as serious as she normally would while spouting dire declarations, considering the whipped cream at the corner of her mouth. “If you take this up with the captain, tell him you think it was a murder--”

“He won’t believe me,” Diego finishes. He takes a drink of his coffee, still too hot, and winces. He takes another sip anyway, because it’s just about the only thing keeping him awake. He heaves a heavy sigh. “This investigation stays off the record, there’s no other option. Neither of you need to get your hands dirty, I just need you to keep the captain off my back. I’m on desk duty right now anyway, it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“What evidence do you have that this could be a murder?” Patch presses. Diego knows she can see right through him; she knows he’s keeping something from her. But there are some things he just can’t say, and this is one of them. There’s no way he can explain to Patch and Beaman that the half-remembered account of a fucking _ghost_ is the only evidence he has. They already think he’s losing his mind as is, he can’t give them more reason to doubt him.

“I just have a hunch,” he says instead, and he doesn’t miss the flicker of disappointment on Patch’s face. He’ll find a way to make it up to her later. “I need the autopsy report, and I need… I need to see if we have a file on Luther Hargreeves.”

“Who?” Beaman asks. 

“I think he was involved,” Diego answers. “Ben, uh, Ben’s _brother_ told me that Ben was with Hargreeves and some woman the day he died. That’s all he knows. I need to find both of them.”

“Diego,” Patch starts, voice soft. “Do you ever think that this mystery kind of sounds like a conspiracy theory? Just because it all seems connected doesn’t mean that it is.”

Diego stares down at the table between them, jaw clenched. None of them say anything for a long moment, leaving them with the sound of cheery pop music playing over the speakers and two baristas gossiping about their love lives.

“I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” he finally says. “I don’t care if I get fired, I don’t care if it’s dangerous. I’m going to figure this out.”

Patch sighs quietly, but she nods. He always knew she was his ride or die.

“Okay,” she says. “I’ll help you.”

Beaman offers a reassuring smile. “Me too.” 

 

* * *

 

Two days pass before Diego has the chance to do any research. If he wants to be off the captain’s radar, all his paperwork needs to be done, and it takes an exhausting amount of time. Though he doesn’t see Klaus for those two days, he receives a handful of texts, all laden with an abundance of emojis that mostly show up as little white boxes with question marks in them. At first, he expects the texts to be about Ben or about the investigation, but they’re mostly just innocuous things like, _do you think Lucy would like nice with a collar? the correct answer is yes but idk what color????_ and _let’s do dinner tonight, i want indian food._

Diego’s starting to think that Klaus is flirting with him. It’s not exactly the most opportune moment, but Diego can’t help but encourage it anyway, helplessly charmed by Klaus’ eccentricities. But he pushes Klaus out of his mind for now-- he’ll see him later for dinner, which, like, is it a date? Should Diego ask if it’s a date or is it one of those situations where the answer should be obvious? What exactly does one wear to a maybe-date with a man that can see ghosts? Off-track again; Diego rubs his eyes and forces his thoughts back to work. He needs to find Ben’s autopsy report.

The trouble is, Diego soon finds, Ben’s autopsy report doesn’t seem to exist. He spends most of the day looking for it and asking around as surreptitiously as he can, but he can’t find any record of Ben at all. Diego’s anxiety spikes suddenly when he goes to pull up the crime scene report and it’s gone too. The missing autopsy report could be a clerical error-- but _both_ documents, with no back-ups left behind? It’s deliberate, that much is clear. He searches Ben’s name and there’s _nothing_ , not even the three parking tickets that Diego knows had been there before.

As soon as he can, Diego pulls Patch aside in the breakroom where she’s fiddling with the oft-broken Keurig and whispers in her ear, “Meet me in the bathroom in five minutes.” 

When she comes into the single stall bathroom, Diego locks the door behind her, and she raises a brow, starting to smile. 

“I thought our fooling around in bathroom days were behind us,” she teases.

Diego shakes his head and doesn’t bother with any preamble as he says, “All trace of Ben is gone. Whoever killed him is covering their tracks.”

Patch is suddenly serious again. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Diego admits. God, he wants to punch something. “I need to go, just-- tell Beaman for me? We all need to keep this quiet, no one can know that I’m looking into this. We can’t trust anyone else.”

He knows he sounds more paranoid than ever before, but Patch just nods seriously and squeezes his shoulder. “We’ve got your back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will probably be longer! Diego and Klaus go on their maybe-date and they go on a bit of an adventure.


	7. Romantic with a capital R

Though Diego knows there will inevitably be backlash, he puts in a request for time off and he goes home. Whatever the fuck is going on, he can’t find answers at the precinct, and he could certainly do without the ever-watchful eye of his captain. That man has distrusted Diego from the day they met, and that has always been clear. By the time he gets home, it’s almost time to meet Klaus for their maybe-date, and Diego stares into his closet, dumbstruck. 

What the fuck should he wear? Does it even matter?

For a lack of time and a lack of options, he chooses his newest pair of jeans that have yet to rip in the knees and the forest green button down shirt that his mom always said made him look smart. He sort of wishes he had time to shower, but he told Klaus he would pick up the food, and he’s rushing out the door as is. He arrives at Klaus’ place, laden down with an almost overflowing paper bag full of rice and curry and naan, right on time.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” Klaus says with a grin as he helps Diego spread the food out on the coffee table in the living room. Diego feels relieved that he dressed up, because Klaus looks… well, Klaus looks gorgeous. He’s wearing another flowy dress, just like he was when they met, and the rich purple color looks beautiful against his skin. He’s also wearing a necklace, which Diego has noticed peeking out from his collar before, but when Klaus leans forward to grab a plate, the necklace slips free of the dress, and Diego can finally see what it is.

It’s a pair of dog tags.

Diego looks away quickly, sure that Klaus didn’t want him to see that, and when Klaus sits back, he tucks the dog tags away safely again. Diego wouldn’t know how to ask about it if he wanted to, so he doesn’t say a word about it, though he can’t help but be curious. Klaus wasn't in the military, and neither was Ben-- the dog tags must belong to someone else. 

“Is Ben here?” he asks while he loads up a plate, and Klaus laughs softly.

“I asked Ben to give us some privacy,” Klaus answers, bumping his shoulder against Diego’s where they sit almost knee-to-knee with their backs against the couch. It’s cozy. “I don’t need my brother chaperoning our date.”

Diego hides his smile with a heaping forkful of rice. So it _is_ a date. Thank god.

Klaus is so easy to talk to, Diego actually forgets his worries for almost an hour. When Klaus gets really into a story, gesticulating wildly and bumping their knees together, Diego can’t help but get caught up in it too. And for 45 glorious minutes, it really does feel like a proper date. Like a really _good_ first date, possibly the best Diego has ever been on. It’s like they could’ve met in a coffee shop or at a bar; not as the inadvertent result of the murder of Klaus’ brother. 

“Obviously, I’m not a psychic,” Klaus is saying, laughing. “I make up the same bullshit about money and romance and success, just like everyone else. If I could _actually_ see the future, I’d’ve rigged the lottery _ages_ ago.”

“Klaus,” Diego interrupts reluctantly, and without really thinking, he reaches for Klaus’ hand where it sits on the edge of the coffee table. He picks it up and Klaus laces their fingers together, and Diego really hates that he’s about to ruin this. “I’m having a really good time, but we-- we need to talk about Ben.” 

Klaus sighs quietly and shifts their clasped hands ‘til they rest between them on the floor. He nods. “You’re right.”

“I don’t really know where the investigation is going to go from here,” Diego admits, rubbing tiredly at his eyes with his free hand. “But I’m not going to give up. I think we should try to find Vanya again--” 

“Ben had an idea, actually,” Klaus cuts in, an odd expression on his face. He looks… apprehensive. Diego is already nervous. “I didn’t want to tell you ‘til after dinner, I figured it would ruin the romance.”

“Sorry,” Diego says with an apologetic smile. On a whim, he lifts Klaus’ hand to his mouth and presses a soft kiss to the back of it, just like Klaus had when they met. Klaus’ answering smile is so fucking _sweet_ , Diego wants to kiss him. If this were a normal date, he _would_.

Diego is still debating whether it would be rude to lean in and kiss Klaus now, despite just saying that they should discuss their plans of investigating his brother’s murder, when Klaus lets out a deep, dramatic sigh, like he’s bracing himself for what he’s about to say.

“Ben thinks we should go grave digging.”

Diego freezes. “ _What?”_  

“Well, uh.” Klaus winces, squeezing Diego’s hand. “When you texted me earlier about the autopsy report, I told Ben, and he thinks that the report must’ve revealed something, right? Something on there must make it clear that it wasn’t really a suicide, and if there’s no way for us to find what the report said…”

“We need to dig up his body and see for ourselves,” Diego finishes, dumbstruck. “Fuck.”

“For the record, I’m not wild about the idea,” Klaus replies, fiddling anxiously with the hem of his dress. “Neither is Ben, really, but. We can’t think of another way.”

Diego knows that he’s going to get really nervous and uncomfortable the second he lets himself think about what they’re going to do, so he refuses to focus on that. Instead, he starts thinking logistics. They’ll have to go at night, and they should do it soon, in case someone knows that Diego has been looking into Ben’s death and they try to destroy the evidence first. Honestly, Diego doesn’t even think that Klaus should come with him, but he knows there’s no point in arguing the matter. 

God, they’re going to get arrested. _God_ , they’re going to dig up a _body_. There’s no possible outcome here that doesn’t completely suck.

“We should go tonight,” Diego says, resolute. “It’s not the most romantic first date I’ve been on, but it could be worse.” 

“Could it?” Klaus asks, and Diego huffs a quiet laugh.

“No, probably not.” With great reluctance, Diego stands up, tugging Klaus up with him. They’re of a height with each other and it’s easy to look right into Klaus’ green eyes, and _fuck_ , maybe it’s insensitive to be thinking about this right now, but Diego still wants to kiss him. He’s just so _pretty_. Gently, Diego reaches out and cups Klaus’ face, and his eyes flutter shut, and he’s fucking _perfect_. In a soft voice, Diego asks, “Do you have shovels?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write the grave digging adventure as part of this chapter, but I wanted to get this posted sooner!! I really really gotta finish a big bang I'm working on, so this fic is gonna be less of a priority in the next few weeks, and I just wanted to give y'all an update so you don't forget about me.


	8. I ain't sayin she a grave digger

“I feel like we should get to know each other a little better,” Klaus says from the passenger seat, as if this is still a date and they’re not en route to a graveyard. “Tell me more about you, Diego. It’ll distract us.” 

Diego glances over at Klaus, at his earnest expression and the anxious fidgeting of his hands, and he nods. “Sure, I could use a distraction.”

“Great!” Klaus claps his hands together. “What’s your sign?” 

“I’m a Libra, and so are you,” Diego says with a laugh. “We have the same birthday, remember?”

Klaus chuckles to, then glances in the rearview mirror. Diego looks too, but there’s nothing to be seen.

“Is that Ben back there?” he asks quietly.

Klaus turns his eyes downward, watching flecks of his nail polish flake off as he anxiously picks at his cuticles. His voice is hushed when he answers, “No, Ben isn't here. He said this would be too macabre, even for a ghost.”

Silence descends in the car and Diego doesn’t know how to break it. Klaus had the right idea of talking to distract themselves, so Diego casts about for something interesting about himself to share, but his mind is blank. The only prevailing thought in his head is preoccupied with the constant thrum of anxiety over what they’re about to do.

Klaus must be thinking along the same lines, because he pipes up after a few minutes. “The funeral was only two weeks ago,” he says quietly. He draws his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. If he was anyone else, Diego would’ve told him to get his feet off the seat, but he doesn’t. “It was horrible, funerals are always horrible. Everyone thought he’d killed himself, and I-- I didn’t know what to believe.” 

Diego hesitates, then reaches over the cup holders between them to hold Klaus’ hand. His fingers are cold and Diego holds tightly. “Were there a lot of people there?”

“Oh, tons,” Klaus replies, an edge of forced cheer in his voice. “His whole adopted family and all our friends came… His mom was devastated, you know? After Ben was adopted, they got him therapy, and he was diagnosed with depression. He struggled with it for so long, and she thinks it’s what got him in the end.”

“We’re gonna find who did this to him,” Diego says vehemently, glaring out the windshield. “Luther Hargreeves and whoever that woman is, they’re out there and we’re going to find them. They’ll pay, Klaus. I promise you that.”

“They will,” Klaus agrees softly. “But Ben is still going to be dead.”

“At least you can still see him?” 

Klaus squeezes Diego’s hand tightly. “Not forever,” he says, still so quiet. “I’m not going to keep Ben tethered to this plane any longer than I have to. If he stays too long, he might not know how to leave, and he deserves to rest.” 

“Oh. I--” 

“It’s okay,” Klaus interrupts gently. “Everyone dies.”

The world is dark around them as they leave the city. There are few other cars on the roads and half the streetlights are out, and everything seems quiet. Diego can’t stop his thoughts from racing-- thinking about Ben bleeding out in his arms, thinking about how much Klaus has lost, thinking about the shovels in his trunk, thinking about his mother so frail but always smiling when Diego visited her in the hospital.

He remembers her funeral. It seemed like everyone that had ever met her attended, because they couldn't help but love her. They brought their casseroles and their condolences, and Diego had said _thank you_ and _I’m glad you could make it_ because she had raised him to be polite. That night, he’d sat alone in her big, empty house, and he’d turned on all the lights, like he could pretend she was just in the other room, working on her cross stitch in front of the fireplace. For weeks afterwards, he’d done little else but pick fights, just so he could feel something other than soul-crushing grief.

“My mom died last year,” Diego says softly, and it’s the first time he’s ever brought it up to anyone. “We were really close, and it-- it was hard for me." 

Klaus squeezes Diego’s hand, and Diego can feel Klaus’ eyes on him, but he doesn’t turn to meet his stare. 

“Do you want me to conjure her for you some time?” Klaus offers gently. “I bet she’d love to talk to you.”

“No,” Diego says quickly, then hesitates. “Maybe. She’s at peace, right? I should just leave her be.”

“You don’t have to decide right now. Just think about it.”

Diego nods. When he glances over, Klaus isn’t looking at him anymore-- he’s staring down at the dog tags clenched tight in his fist. Again, Diego wants to ask, but doesn’t. Despite Ben’s death, Klaus has seemed so happy with the life he’s made for himself-- but the more Diego learns about his past, the more he worries. Just what had Klaus gone through to leave him this haunted? If Ben was the only thing that kept Klaus sane all his life, what’s going to happen now? Diego barely knows Klaus, it’s true, but he wants to take care of him.

“We’re almost there,” Klaus says a few minutes later, and Diego immediately feels nauseous. He wants to get this over with, but it’s going to be fucking horrible, there’s no way around that. All too quickly, they’ve reached the graveyard, and Diego is retrieving the shovels from his trunk.

“You don’t have to do this,” he reminds Klaus, though he knows it’s pointless. “I don’t think you should see his body like this.”

Klaus forces a shaky smile, though his eyes are glassy, and he grabs one of the shovels from Diego’s hands. He promptly turns on his heel and heads off, leading the way to Ben’s grave, and all Diego can do is sigh quietly and follow. It’s a dark, cloudy night, with very weak moonlight to guide them, and Diego would really rather be anywhere in the world than here. Though he’s still wearing his nice date shirt, the peaceful hour spent in Klaus’ living room seems so long ago already.

The cemetery is shrouded in darkness, but Klaus confidently leads the way right to a tombstone with a single wilting white daisy laying on the ground before it. Klaus steps closer, placing a shaky hand against the top of the smooth granite, and Diego looks away to give him a moment of privacy. It’s the least he can do, considering what they’re both about to do. He glances at the nearest grave, right next to Ben’s, and his eyes catch on the dates that reveal a young death-- 1991 to 2017. This grave, adorned with the name _David Katz_ , also has a wilting flower on the ground in front of it, though this one is a red rose.

When Diego looks back at Klaus, he’s unsurprised to find the other man silently crying. Diego shifts closer, offering his hand once more, but Klaus doesn’t notice it and doesn't take it.

“It’s not fair,” Klaus says softly. “I overdosed four times and I never died. But Ben, he was always so much _smarter_ than me. He was better than me, he really was, and he didn’t deserve this. You never fucking deserved it either.”

“What are you talking about?” Diego asks gently, confused. 

Klaus looks up at him sharply, green eyes bright with tears. “I forgot you were there.”

Diego frowns. “Then who were you talking to?”

“Dave,” Klaus says simply, as if that explains anything, then wipes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He brandishes his shovel with a grimace. “Let’s do this, yeah?” 

Diego wants to ask who Dave is, and how Klaus overdosed, and how often he brings flowers to this graveyard, and how does he even get here without a car? But he doesn’t. He rolls up his sleeves, sticks his shovel in the neat grass, and starts digging. 

Except for their heavy breathing, they make very little noise as they dig. It’s hard, laborious work, and Diego is already sore after ten minutes of digging. It’s not long before his nice jeans are covered in dirt, and he’s glad that at least Klaus had the foresight to change out of his pretty date outfit. Klaus is digging like a man possessed, brow furrowed and single-minded, and even though Diego knows this has _got_ to be traumatizing for Klaus, he’s glad to not be doing this alone.

“We’re close,” Diego eventually says, breathless, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his dirty hand. It’s getting harder and harder to ignore the smell coming from the ground below them. “Klaus, I really don’t think you should see this.”

“He’s my brother,” Klaus protests, and doesn’t stop digging. “I’d do anything for him, including this, so just-- just, please, I want to get it over with.”

Diego starts to say something, but he’s rudely interrupted. 

“There’s no need for that,” an unknown voice calls out, and Diego and Klaus both look up sharply. As he squints into the brightness of a flashlight shining right down on them, Diego’s first thought is that they’re about to be arrested, but then he realizes what he’s seeing. A teenager, no older than 15, dressed in a suit and holding the flashlight, has a gun aimed right at him. 

“We need to talk,” the kid says sharply, and Diego lets out a relieved breath as the gun is lowered. “You don’t need to dig up Ben’s body. I know exactly what happened to him.”


	9. the Children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO, my big bang has been posted and now I can devote myself to my UA fics again! I'm hoping to get back to updating this semi-regularly, and y'all can also expect an update for _happy together_ soon!

“Luther Hargreeves,” the boy says, once he’s managed to get Diego and Klaus to meet him at a shitty diner down the street from the cemetery. Diego definitely doesn’t trust him-- not helped by the fact that the boy refused to give them his name-- but he’s willing to entertain this long enough to find out what the kid could possibly know. “He attacked Ben that night.”  

“That’s not exactly news to us,” Diego points out, glaring at the kid over the plate of untouched donuts between them. Did they leave a mostly-dug up grave that could contain _real_ answers for shit they already knew? “There was a woman with him too.”  

“Yeah, and you don’t know who she is?” The boy rolls his eyes, then takes a long drink of coffee. “I have information you want, so how about you sit there and _listen_ to it.” 

“How old are you?” Klaus asks, frowning. 

“Older than I look,” the boy snaps, and the anger on his face is a sharp reminder that he’s carrying at least one gun on his person, and that makes Diego distinctly uncomfortable. All he’s got on him are a few knives, and they won’t do much if a bullet comes at him or Klaus. Klaus looks like he’s about to say something that might piss the boy off, so Diego puts a hand on his thigh under the table, and, thankfully, Klaus closes his mouth.  

“Tell us what you know,” Diego implores, putting on his best professional detective voice, the one he uses during his most difficult interrogations. Patch has always been better at interrogating than he has, though, and he feels incredibly out of his depth here, in his dirt-stained date night shirt, sitting across from a teenager with a gun. And here he thought that grave digging was going to be the low point of his night. 

“The woman is named Allison,” the boy continues, leaning forward intently. “She’s one of the Children, but she wasn’t acquired until recently. She and Luther were sent by Reginald Hargreeves to find Ben.” 

“The Children?” Diego echoes, brow furrowed. 

At the same time, Klaus raises a brow and asks, “What did Hargreeves want with Ben?” 

The boy lets out a tired sigh, rubs his eyes, and begins to explain. 

“Ben was one of the Children, and so are the three of us,” he says, then holds up a hand before either of them can interrupt. Diego and Klaus exchange a baffled look, then both turn back to the boy. “I know you know about the mothers and the births and the powers. Hargreeves tried to buy as many of us as he could get his hands on, but the only one he could get at the beginning was Luther. But over time, he found me, then Allison, then Ben. Given enough time, he’ll find the two of you, and Vanya too.”  

“I have a few questions,” Klaus says when the boy pauses. The boy sighs, but gestures for Klaus to speak. “First of all, what the fuck? Second of all, _what the fuck_?”  

“How do you know all this?” Diego asks sharply, eyeing the boy with open mistrust. “And how can you be one of us? You’re a kid.” 

“I’m _not_ a kid, but I’ll explain that later,” the boy replies in a long-suffering tone. “What matters is this: Hargreeves wanted Ben to join his team. When Ben said no, Hargreeves had Luther and Allison kill him and make it look like a suicide. I don’t think they really knew why they were told to do it, but they did it anyway.” 

“What team?” Klaus asks, eyes narrowed at the boy. “Is this a team you’re _part_ of?”  

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the boy scoffs. “I haven’t been part of it in decades. I just got back and things have gone to shit without me.” 

“And what does this team do, other than murder?” Diego demands, barely remembering to keep his voice low so he doesn’t freak out the waitress walking by. Judging by the alarmed look she shoots them, he didn’t quite achieve a quiet enough tone. 

“We’re going to save the world,” the boy answers, as if it should be obvious. “Ostensibly, that is. Hargreeves couldn’t exactly execute his vision with just Luther. He had this dream of a team of child superheroes, but now I think he’ll settle for just a team of superpowered adults instead. And if he can’t benefit from us, he’s going to kill us.”  

Diego stares down at the plate of donuts, all the sugar and icing and sprinkles, and he wants to throw up. He hears Klaus make a quiet noise next to him, and he glances over-- Klaus is staring to his left, eyes fixed on thin air, and Diego knows it must be Ben. Diego wishes he could hear what Ben’s saying too, but it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for Klaus to manifest a ghost in the middle of a diner.  

Does the boy even know what Klaus can do? By the contemplative look on his face as he studies Klaus, Diego thinks he just might. _How_ does the boy know so much? Who even _is_ he? 

“Ben doesn’t remember what happened when they killed him,” Klaus says quietly, staring at the spot where Ben is instead of at the boy, a faraway look on his dirt-smudged face. His eyes are wide and sad and _tired_. “He doesn’t think we should trust you.” 

“If you don’t trust me, you’re going to die,” the boy says bluntly. “But if you work _with_ me, we can bring Hargreeves down together.” 

“You want us to trust you and you won’t even tell us your name,” Diego says petulantly, and he’s not surprised at the annoyed sigh that leaves the boy’s lips. “What kind of sense does that make?” 

“My name is Five,” the boy says, glaring stubbornly at Diego. “As in five of _seven_. Now, do you want to ask me more useless questions, or can we go plan a murder?”


	10. risky business

“Yeah, no, me neither,” Klaus mumbles, frowning down at his hands in his lap as he picks at his nail polish. It had been pristine yesterday, when Diego came over for their date. But one date, one dug-up grave, and one mostly-sleepless night later, the cheerful pink of Klaus’ polish is nearly all chipped away. Diego is trying to focus on the road, but he catches the way that Klaus shakes his head and mutters, “Look, what other choice do we have?” 

“Klaus?” Diego prompts gently. “Maybe you should try to nap ‘til we get back to the city. I know you barely slept.” 

Which Diego knows, of course, because he’d hardly caught a wink either. They’d both laid awake most of the night, three feet apart, on lumpy twin mattresses in a shitty motel near the diner Five had taken them to. 

Five hadn’t stayed, though. He left them with the bill, his phone number, and the promise that he was going to track down Luther and Allison. He hadn’t given them any time to argue or interject at all, before he’d vanished into thin air, which was… a lot to process. 

But Diego and Klaus, both exhausted and overwhelmed, had been too ready to shower off the dirt to even discuss what the fuck had just happened. 

It was a long night, and morning has brought very little relief. 

“ _No_ ,” Klaus hisses, and it takes Diego a second to realize that Klaus still isn’t talking to him. Had Klaus even noticed Diego speaking? “I already told you I’m not going to do that-- no, I don’t _care_. Ben, _no_ , don’t take his side--!”  

“ _Klaus_ ,” Diego says again, sharper, and Klaus looks up suddenly, eyes bright. His eyeliner is a smudged mess and his hair is sleep-mussed and tangled; he looks worlds away from the man Diego had almost kissed just yesterday. Like this, Klaus looks… he looks like the manic-eyed man who showed up at Diego’s apartment and held him at the point of his own knife with his _mind_ while accusing Diego of his brother’s murder. 

God, it hasn’t just been a long night; the past few weeks have felt like a very slow eternity. When this is all over, what will Diego even have to show for it? He’s probably going to lose his job, at the very least-- the investigation will be discovered, the captain will take issue with Diego taking leave, or worse. Even if their plan goes smoothly, it will end in _murder_ , and even the thought of it has Diego’s blood running cold. He’s killed before, and that _haunts_ him-- literally, according to Klaus. Can he deal with one more ghost on his conscience? 

Ben is dead. Ben was _murdered_. Diego needs to remember that-- he’s going to do this for Ben, for Klaus, for himself. Reginald Hargreeves _is_ going to die, and though it may ruin him, Diego wants to be the one to put a knife in the man’s heart. 

Is it wrong, to plan murder in the name of avenging Ben, when he’s starting to think that Ben may not want any more bloodshed? 

“Sorry,” Klaus says quietly as he rubs his eyes, smearing his makeup even more. “They’re just so fucking _loud_. I’m pretty sure I didn’t ask them for advice, but _here they are_ , talking my ear off anyway.” 

The ghosts, Diego presumes; probably Ben and this Dave guy, whoever he is. Diego wants to ask Klaus what they’re saying, what is it that they want Klaus to do, but… 

Diego’s pretty sure that’s not his place.  

“It’s fine,” Diego replies, feeling a little at a loss. “I was just saying, you should probably nap.”

Klaus waves a dismissive hand. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I don’t _need_ sleep to function.” He turns to glare into the backseat, startling Diego. “I’m pretty sure I _can’t die_ , so _shut up_.” 

“Uh.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Klaus repeats with a smile that’s almost convincingly real, settling back into the front seat. “How much longer ‘til we get there?” 

“I-- about an hour-- _you can’t die_?” Diego splutters, barely managing to keep an eye on the road as he gives Klaus an incredulous look. 

Klaus sighs dramatically. 

"Sort of," Klaus replies flippantly, shrugging. "I tried a few times, it doesn't really _take._ "

That's an incredibly distressing sentence that Diego has no idea what to do with. He presses on carefully, eyes on the road. "Is that... part of your powers?"

"Maybe," Klaus says. "I haven't, like, _really_ tested it. I wanted to, but Ben really put his foot down on it."

"So you can talk to ghosts _and_ you're telekinetic _and_ you might be a little bit immortal," Diego sums up, eyes wide. "And I used to think my shit was cool."

Klaus laughs lightly. "I mean, throwing knives is pretty handy?" 

Diego snorts. "Yeah, that's real convincing, thanks. And, for the record, I have a secondary power too, it's just not quite as exciting as yours."

"Oh?" Klaus perks up, curiosity obviously piqued. "What is it? Is it just being really, ridiculously handsome? Because that's impressive, don't get me wrong, but I don't think it's _technically_ a superpower."

Diego shoots Klaus a sideways look, eyebrows raised pointedly.

"I can hold my breath," Diego replies. "Ostensibly for forever, though it feels kinda weird when I don't breathe for a while. But I don't _need_ to."

"Huh." A beat of silence, and then, "Ben says you never told him about that." 

Diego shrugs awkwardly. "It didn't really come up, it's not like it's all that useful."

"Does that mean you're really good at--"

"Yes."

" _Huh_ ," Klaus repeats, but Diego can tell he's grinning this time. "That's certainly... _interesting_. But I guess it does kinda pale in comparison to the rest of us."

Diego thinks back to everything that Five had told them the night before-- about how he can teleport, about how Luther has super strength, about how Allison's _words can alter reality_. And then there's Klaus, with his myriad of powers, and _Ben_ who could harness the power of an eldritch horror living inside him. Then there's _Vanya_ , and they don't really know what she can do, but she leveled a building and walked out unscathed, so whatever her power is, it's _powerful_. 

When Diego had first started prying into the mystery of the births and the powers, he'd had no fucking idea that it was going to get this intense. He feels a little out of his depth, with his knives and his lackluster ability to hold his breath indefinitely, but he's got his police training, and that probably makes him the most qualified member of this ragtag team anyway.

And what a team they make: a cop, a medium, a teenager, and a ghost. It sounds like the set-up to a bad joke and Diego is just waiting for the punchline.

"I'm alright with it," Diego finally says. "I like my knives."

Klaus hums in acknowledgement. "Do you think Vanya's gonna let us in?"

"I have no idea," Diego answers honestly. He sighs. "She turned me away last time, but with you and Ben here too, maybe she'll be swayed. Whether she knows it or not, she's in danger. And if she's as powerful as we think she is, we could use her on our side."

"Maybe we shouldn't bother her," Klaus says quietly, a pensive note to his tone. "Or maybe we should just tell her to get the hell out of dodge, you know? I just... Ben doesn't like this plan." 

"It's selfish," Ben suddenly says, and Diego is glad that they're alone on the road because he startles violently and jerks the car halfway into the next lane. He fixes it quickly, then glances at Ben's spectral form in the backseat.

He's still bloody. He's still cute.

He looks just as worried as Diego's always seen him.

"Ben," Diego starts, hesitant. "We're doing this for you."

"It's _dangerous_ ," Ben replies instantly, shaking his head. "Dave and I have been telling Klaus, we think this is a terrible idea. You could both die, don't fucking do it in my name."

"I can't die," Klaus argues petulantly, arms crossed. 

"That's just a _theory_ , I don't want you to risk it!" Ben replies, voice growing louder. " _Diego_ can die, you're really willing to risk his life too?"

"Hey, wait," Diego cuts in. "I'm a detective, it's not like I'm ill-equipped for this."

"I had a monster at my beck and call, I thought _I_ was equipped for this," Ben retorts. "See how that ended up?"

"Ben," Klaus says softly. "We have to do this." 

"You don't," Ben refutes. "Think about what you're willing to risk for revenge, Klaus! Another dead boyfriend?" 

Klaus reels back, stricken.

With a sharp jerk, Diego pulls the car over to the shoulder and turns the engine off.

It's silent for a long moment-- and then it begins to rain, sudden and hard, crashing down on the roof of the car in a deafening deluge.

"That's not fair," Klaus whispers, voice small. Diego starts to loosen his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

"It's not," Ben agrees, undeterred. "But you need to take some fucking time and _think_ , don’t just rush into this blindly. This is a bad plan-- hell, it's barely even a plan! We want you to be safe--!"

"You want me to _run_!" Klaus interrupts, tears streaking down his face as he turns away from Ben. "I'm not that person anymore, I can't just-- I can't give up on this. On _you."_

"Klaus," Ben murmurs softly, reaching forward to rest one bloody hand on his brother's shoulder. "I need you not to worry about me anymore. I'm already dead."

Klaus sobs harder, and all Diego can do is watch the scene unfold.

"I thought you wanted us to solve the mystery," Diego says after a long moment with nothing to hear except the rain. "We were going to all work together." 

"It's so much more dangerous than I thought," Ben says, meeting Diego's eyes steadily. The blood streaked across Ben's face looks so _real_ and _fresh_ , so vividly red, and Diego can remember all too well how hot and slick and terrible it felt under his fingers. He looks away sharply, squeezing his eyes shut to combat the sudden nausea. "I don't trust Five. I don't trust Vanya, I don't trust anyone except you and Klaus. And I can't sit back and watch you two die."

"Ben--"

" _Run_ ," Ben commands, heavy and _loud_ and deeper than a human voice should ever be. "Turn the car around, get on a plane, go to fucking Europe! Leave the state, leave the country, leave the Children behind before they can kill you too!"

In the distance, lightning strikes, and thunder follows quickly. 

When Diego opens his eyes and peers into the backseat, Ben is gone. He turns to Klaus, who has his face in his hands, shoulders shaking as he cries.

"Is Ben gone?" Diego asks quietly.

Klaus wipes his eyes with the back of his hands, smearing more makeup all over his face, and he glances in the backseat, then gives Diego a tired nod as he settles back into his seat. "Him and Dave both."

"Are y-y-you alright?"

Klaus sniffles heavily, pointedly staring out his window at the rain crashing down on the sad, dead little field they're parked next to. "I'm fine. You were right, I should try to sleep."

Diego hesitates, then offers, "Do you want to talk about what just happened?"

"No," Klaus answers immediately, voice tight. He draws his knees up, feet on the seat, and rests his cheek against his legs. "I don't want to talk about Ben... or about Dave. I just want to sleep."

"Alright," Diego says quietly. He turns the car back on, then pulls back out onto the road.

And on they go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay, my darlings ❤️ life is very, very crazy right now, and will probably continue to be crazy for the next month or two. but i WILL NOT abandon this fic. ❤️ 
> 
> please comment if you liked it!!


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